Under A Panther's Watch
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Black Panther finds a young girl who has been on the run for two years and as a hero, he can't ignore a child who needs help, but will Luna allow him to help her and possibly let him become her new father? (Based of the Avengers cartoon) :)
1. Chapter 1

**A story idea that came to me. Now, I will freely admit, I don't know a lot about Black Panther, so I will be unable to accept requests with him, but I might write more with him, depending on my muse. **

**Avengers (the cartoon) belongs to Marvel and Disney. I only own Luna.**

* * *

**Under A Panther's Watch**

"Get her!"

"Where is she?!"

"Don't loose her!"

"She's gone! She just disappeared!"

"Chief's not going to like this."

The policemen searched the alleyways, but found no trace of the person they were pursuing. "How can a child escape us that fast?" One asked. "We were right on her tail."

"Maybe she's got instincts like a cat," one officer said, slightly joking.

What that officer didn't know was that his joke was actually quite true. A lanky figure was watching from the shadows of the roof, smiling as the police looked around before giving up. "Well, just keep an eye out for her," the lead officer said. "She'll turn up sooner or later."

One officer paused. "You know, call me crazy, but I don't think that child stole from her foster family as they claimed," he said. "I'm not just saying this because I'm a father myself, but something about the bedroom scene just seemed...staged."

"I got that feeling myself," said a policewoman. "And I think I saw some of the jewelry the woman claimed was stolen sticking out from under the bed."

"From what we know, Luna didn't steal from her other foster homes," said another policewoman. "She just ran away from them."

"Quite a record too," said another policeman. "Fifteen homes in the span of two years."

"Sixteen, if you count this one," said the lead officer before sighing. "That kid's been through a lot."

Nodding sympathetically, all the officers headed away and the lanky figure breathed a sigh of relief, coming out of the shadows and looking around. She spotted a light down further in the alleyway and underneath it was a barrel full of water. Going over to it, the figure looked at her reflection in the water. What she saw made her sigh.

There were bruises on her face and neck from where she had been slapped and the foster father had tried to strangle her, but she had fought back like a cat, getting free and escaping the abusive home. Ever since her parents had died four years ago and then her grandmother two years ago, she had been in abusive foster homes and had run away from every one of them.

She gazed at her reflection again. Her eyes were golden brown and glowed in the moonlight, hence the reason her parents had named her Luna. At twelve years old, she was tall for her age and had dark red, almost brown hair that reached her shoulders, but she often kept it pulled back into a French braid. Gazing again at her bruised face and neck, she sighed again.

"I'm never going back," she said aloud. "I didn't steal anything and I won't go back to that awful place."

Feeling better, she smiled and checked to be sure her black backpack was on her back and that she had her climbing claws safely inside. The climbing claws were the reason she fooled the police because she could climb very fast, a trait she picked up from her parents who had loved climbing as a hobby. She learned the best and fastest ways to climb without making a sound or leaving very little evidence of where she had been.

Her stomach suddenly growled and she reached into her bag, pulling out a granola bar. "Well, better than nothing," she said softly as she began eating it, unaware that she had caught someone's eye.

* * *

Black Panther was patrolling and had already sent word back to Tony that all was clear when he spotted the girl as she hid from the police. Curious, he moved quietly closer and listened as she spoke. He waited until she was done eating her granola bar and had stood up.

"Well, best find a place to sleep," she said to herself. "Hopefully a spot where the police won't find me."

The black-suited hero felt it was best to speak up right then. "Hello," he said.

Luna jumped at hearing the voice and barely held back a scream, whirling around, but not seeing anything until her eyes adjusted and she saw a shadow move. She immediately got in a defensive stance, but was ready to bolt at a moment's notice. She noticed white eyes looking at her. "Do you need a place to sleep, young one?" The voice asked again and she deduced it was coming from the person in front of her. "I can take you someplace warm."

The twelve-year-old girl scoffed. "Let me guess, the police station," she said. "No way. I'm not going there."

He would have said more, but right then, he saw the bruises and marks on her and he stood straighter. "So that's why you ran away," he said.

She looked confused until she realized he was staring at her bruises and marks on her neck. She quickly pulled up her shirt collar to hide the marks, getting more than just a little scared now. "Who are you?" She asked, backing away a bit.

The figure started to move closer. "Don't be afraid," he said as he stepped out into the light.

Luna's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw who was standing in front of her and she turned heel and ran as fast as she could, jumping off the roof of the building and using the wall to help her control her fall. Landing on her feet, she took off like a shot.

Black Panther was impressed. "She is skilled," he said to himself before taking off after the girl, keeping her in his sights with ease. He noted she kept away from the streets and tried to lose him in the alleyways, but he kept right on her tail.

The girl paused in an alleyway and leaned against a wall to catch her breath. "Black Panther," she said softly and in horror. She knew of the black-suited hero that worked with the Avengers. He had taken down many enemies and was known for his claws. Trembling now, she looked around for a hiding spot.

"Young one?" She heard him call out and she jumped, looking around but not seeing him. "I know you're there. Come on out."

Panicking, Luna pulled out her climbing claws and quickly scaled the building next to her, but when she reached the top, she gasped as she saw the very hero she had been running from standing right there and as he reached for her, she jumped, pushing herself away from the wall and landing on the opposite wall, which was only a couple yards away, and scaling it before running as fast as she could along the long roof.

Amused, Black Panther kept on the girl's trail, sensing she was getting tired and he soon saw her fall down and scramble to get back up, but her legs gave out on her and she began dragging herself across the rest of the roof to the edge of it and stopping, looking exhausted. The black-suited hero began cautiously approaching and he noted how she looked more frightened now and tried to phase through the wall behind her, her eyes wide with fear and she was trembling, curling up in a ball and whimpering. He continued approaching until he was just a few steps from her and he sat down, intent on calming the child down first. "Shh, calm down, young one," he said. "Why are you so afraid? I'm not going to hurt you."

She looked at him with her golden brown eyes filled with tears. "But...you're Black Panther," she said.

"Yes, I am," he said. "What's your name?"

She looked away and he waited patiently before she looked back at him. "Luna," she said.

"A lovely name," he said. "But Luna, I'm curious...why aren't you home? You're too young to be out here on your own."

She looked away again. "None of your business," she said.

"Well, it is, since I'm going to take you home," he said. "I'll just need to call the police."

Luna's head snapped up and she suddenly grabbed his arm. "NO! Don't do that!" She said urgently, realizing too late that it had been a ruse as he caught her and held her as she struggled to get free. "Let go!"

"First off, no. Second of all, where do you live?" He asked.

She glared at him, but he was unaffected by it. "I can call the police," he said. Her eyes widened in fear and he decided to try another tactic. "If you tell me why you won't go home, I won't call the police."

She didn't look like she trusted him and she shook her head, struggling again. "Let go!" She said.

Seeing he had no choice, Black Panther reached one hand towards Luna's neck. "I'm sorry, young one," he said as he pinched a nerve in her neck. She gasped before she passed out, her body going limp. Without another word, the hero gently picked up the girl, moving silently and quickly to the Avengers Mansion.

* * *

_The next day..._

Luna woke up and she shook her head, looking around and wondering where she was. It didn't look like her foster home and it didn't look like the police station. The door suddenly opened to the bedroom and she jumped, quickly laying down and pretending to be asleep. She didn't hear anything for a moment until she heard something being set down on what sounded like a table. "I know you're awake," came a voice that was robotic, but yet smooth.

The girl opened her eyes to see the Vision standing in front of her and she hunkered down under the blankets in fear. His gaze softened. "It's alright. Don't be afraid," he said, sitting beside her. "You're safe here."

She didn't look reassured, but then her stomach growled and Vision brought over a plate that had food on it. "Black Panther thought you might be hungry when you woke up," he said. "He brought you here last night."

Luna cocked her head to the side. "Where am I?" She asked him.

"The Avengers Mansion," the robotic hero told her. "You'll be safe here."

She looked away, but when he offered the plate again, she took it. "Thank you," she said softly before eating, feeling her appetite kick in as she ate the eggs, sausage, and hasbrowns.

Vision smiled. "It's good to see you have a healthy appetite," he said. "And the bruises are healing well."

Luna stopped eating at that and looked away, pulling up the collar of her shirt to hide the marks and bruises. A gentle hand touched her hand and gently pulled it away. "Don't be afraid," he said gently.

She looked at him. "Why did Black Panther bring me here?" She asked.

"He noticed you had a fearful reaction when he mentioned the police," Vision said.

"And she had good reason too," said another voice as Tony walked in. "Kid's been on the run since she was ten years old. Lost her parents and grandmother a few years ago."

Luna looked away again but noticed Tony came closer. "Kid, this might be a hard question for you to answer, but...were the foster homes not nice to you?" He asked.

She shook her head before looking at him curiously. "Why would you ask me that if you're not going to believe me?" She asked. "The police didn't."

"Kid, if you haven't noticed, I like to hear both sides of the story," he said. "J.A.R.V.I.S. ran a scan on you last night and he found evidence of a lot of abuse, so I can see why you're skeptical of believing anyone right now."

Just then, Thor walked in and Luna swallowed hard, looking a bit afraid of the titan. "Ah, she's awoken," the thunder-weilding hero said with a smile. "I'm glad to see you are doing better, young one."

His voice helped to calm some of her fear before she saw Tony turn to his friend. "What did you find?" He asked him.

"It seems the police found out that the child didn't steal from that couple as they claimed and the police are looking into charges of child abuse," Thor said. "Our friend Black Panther spoke with them and it seems they are willing to let the child stay here until a new foster home can be found for her."

Vision noticed the change in the young girl immediately and she looked like she had lost her appetite. "I don't believe a new foster home would be best," he said. "She's terrified."

Tony gave it some thought. "Hmm, well, what if this mansion became her foster home?" He said, making the other two heroes and the girl look at him. "She'll be safe here and the Mansion's got the best security system."

"I was hoping you'd agree to that, Iron Man," came Black Panther's voice as he came in. "A judge has graciously granted us temporary custody of Luna until she is adopted or other family is found."

Luna looked at him and looked away before sighing. A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked to see it was Vision and he smiled gently. "As Iron Man said, you'll be safe here," he said.

"Aye, any fool who dares to hurt you will answer to us," Thor promised, gripping his hammer.

Tony looked thoughtful. "Guys, how about we give Luna time to think about it?" He said. "She's been through a lot and to suddenly have this thrust on her is no doubt a bit of a shock."

She looked at him curiously and he gently smiled. "How about you think about it for a day or two?" He suggested. "During that time, you can move about the Mansion. Just don't go outside without one of us or the other Avengers with you, okay?"

She sighed. "So I'm stuck here," she said, not looking happy about it.

"It's for your protection," Black Panther said, his voice gentle.

She looked up at him. "And you're the reason I'm stuck here," she said, giving him a look.

Tony chuckled. "Yep, just like a ticked-off cat," he said. "It's going to be an eventful few days."

Luna sighed again before resuming eating, unsure about what she was going to do now. She was stuck at the Mansion with the Avengers and now would be put into yet another foster home, something she was tired of.

_Why can't they leave me alone? _She thought to herself.

Black Panther watched Luna and noted she didn't look happy, but perhaps after she had settled down, that would change.

At least, he was hoping so.

* * *

**So the Avengers are now looking after a kid. :) **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! :) **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

After Luna had finished eating, a call came in that some of the Avengers were needed and Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Miss Marvel, Black Widow, and Hulk headed out while Black Panther and Captain America stayed behind to keep an eye on things.

The young girl looked around as she noticed the Mansion really was huge and she was walking down the hall when she heard a door open and saw someone, a young woman, walk out. Spotting her, the young woman smiled. "Hi!" She said, her voice friendly. "You must be Luna. Black Panther was talking about you last night."

The young girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm Luna," she said. "And thanks to Black Panther, I'm trapped here."

"I'm Wasp," the young woman said, smiling gently. "And I'm sure he has only your well being in mind to have you stay here."

Luna rolled her eyes. "I've been fine on my own for two years," she said. "I don't like being confined."

"Tony did mention something about the foster homes not being nice to you," Wasp said gently before smiling. "Hey, they didn't restrict you to the Mansion totally, did they?"

The girl shook her head. "They just told me not to go outside without one of you guys with me," she said.

The young woman smiled. "Well, I was about to go do some shopping," she said. "Would you like to come?"

Luna looked at her in confusion. "What's...shopping?" She asked.

"Where you go and buy things or just go to try on clothes you like and maybe want to buy," Wasp explained before looking incredulous. "You've never been shopping before?"

"Not that I can remember," the girl said.

"Then you have to come with me," the young woman said. "It's more fun with two people and I don't think you want to hang around the guys all day long, do you?"

Luna looked thoughtful. "Um, well," she said before trailing off. "Are you sure it would be alright?"

"I'm sure," Wasp said before holding out a hand. "Come on. Let's tell the guys and then we'll be off."

The girl looked uncertain, but did take the young woman's hand. "Okay," she said softly as she did want to get out of the mansion.

Wasp cheered happily before looking at Luna's outfit, which was a tattered gray shirt and sweatpants that had a lot of holes in them and sneakers that were ready for the trash heap. "Hmm. First off, I think I might have something you can wear," she said, going to her closet and crying out happily when she found a purple t-shirt, purple-and-white sparkly jeans, and a pair of sneakers that were brand new. "Here, how about you wash up and put these on and then we'll head out," she said.

* * *

Black Panther had been wondering where Luna was and had stopped outside of Wasp's room when he heard her squeal happily. "Oh, my word! You look so cute!" She said. "Take a look."

Curious, the black-suited hero knocked and Wasp opened the door. "Oh, hey Black Panther," she said. "I was about to head out and Luna was hoping to come with me."

The hero could see the girl was dressed in her new outfit and she was actually smiling. He smiled and nodded. "Just keep her close to you at all times," he said.

"Oh, don't worry," she said. "We girls know how to stick together."

Luna looked up at her before looking up at Black Panther and he nodded. "Please stay by Wasp at all times," he said to her.

She cocked her head to the side before nodding, deciding that since he had asked nicely, she could do that.

"Come on," Wasp said, grabbing her purse. "I know the best places."

After the two left, Captain America noticed how Black Panther was pacing anxiously. "You're really fond of Luna, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yes," the black-suited hero said. "I was hoping to adopt her, but I need to earn her trust first."

The first Avenger nodded. "Don't worry. I'm sure she and Wasp are having a blast," he said.

* * *

Wasp held up a blue shirt. "Oh, this is so cute!" She said, showing it to Luna. "Look, it's got sparkles on it. I bet it would look great on you."

The girl had to admit she liked the shirt. "It is pretty," she said quietly.

"Okay, then we'll get it for you," she said.

Luna looked up at her. "Um, Miss Wasp?" She said. "I...,"

Wasp smiled at her. "Honey, are you okay?" She asked softly. "Am I getting a bit too overzealous?"

The twelve-year-old girl didn't know what to say, but the young woman smiled understandingly. "Sorry, I was just so excited to have someone to shop with, I guess I got a little carried away."

"It's okay," Luna said, a small smiling showing. "I just...I've never been shopping before and...,"

Wasp smiled again. "You don't want to ask for too much, right?" She guessed.

"I...I guess," the girl said.

The young woman smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "How about I get you the clothes you like as a welcome-to-the-family gift?" She said.

Luna blinked. "What?" She asked.

"Oh, I guess you didn't know, but Tony's been working on seeing if you can stay at the Mansion and not have to worry about foster homes again," Wasp explained.

"Well, he did mention that this morning," the young girl said. "But I thought he just meant temporarily."

"No way," the young woman said with a smile. "Tony doesn't do temporary fixes. He does things permanently."

Luna sat down, trying to wrap her head around it all. Wasp smiled and sat down beside her. "Luna, I really shouldn't tell you this, but I think you deserve to know," she said, lowering her voice. "Black Panther is looking to adopt you."

The young girl's head snapped up at that. "What?" She asked in shock.

"Yeah," Wasp said. "He surprised the rest of us when he said he was looking into the process. It seems he didn't like seeing...well, how hurt you were when he found you."

Luna felt panicky again and tried to take a deep breath. Seeing this, the young woman beside her pulled her into a hug. "Luna, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to stress you out."

Slowly, the young girl hugged Wasp. "But...why would Black Panther want to adopt me?" She asked.

Wasp shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Guess he sees you as a young cub that needs a home and he's a protector, so...I guess he feels that he can't abandon you."

"But he doesn't even know me," Luna protested.

The heroine shrugged. "I guess he wants to, or at least he wants you to have a good home," she said. "One other thing I know about him, once he has someone under his protection, he guards them for life. He does so for his village."

The young girl looked away. "I did hear he's a fierce protector," she said.

"He is, but he's equally someone you can trust," Wasp said gently. "We want you to trust us, though we know you may not do so right away."

Luna looked at her. "Is that why you took me shopping today? To earn my trust?" She asked.

"Well, that was part of it," the heroine admitted. "The other parts were that it's more fun to shop with someone else and I was hoping we could maybe start as friends."

The twelve-year-old looked thoughtful for a bit and could see Wasp was telling the truth. She looked up at her. "Do you really think Black Panther would adopt me?" She asked.

Wasp smiled. "Well, from what I know, he is considering it," she said. "But I think he's waiting to see how you do too."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Well, like if you like the Mansion, if you're settling in okay, if you're okay around the rest of us, stuff like that," the heroine said, smiling and placing a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm not saying trust us right away, but...we're willing to earn your trust if you give us a chance." She looked hopeful. "I can be a fun-loving aunt to you."

The young girl blinked and looked down for a moment, giving it some thought. "What is an aunt?" She asked after a moment.

"Well, it's a lady who is your mother's or father's sister," Wasp said gently. "Did your parents not having siblings?"

"I don't know," Luna said. "Grandma never mentioned anyone and I was put in foster care after she died, so...I guess they didn't." She looked back at Wasp. "What do aunts do?"

"Well, an aunt takes her niece, which is her sibling's daughter, out to the mall or someplace fun and she and her niece just do awesome stuff," the heroine said. "Kind of like what we're doing."

The twelve-year-old looked thoughtful before looking up at her. "I think...if I could choose who to have as an aunt...I'd pick you," she said softly.

Wasp smiled and hugged Luna. "I can be, if you want," she said. "Is that okay?"

Luna smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Thanks...Aunt Wasp."

The heroine was squealing on the inside, but she managed to keep it in, thought she did smile hugely. "Come on," she said. "I see some more awesome clothes for my favorite niece."

When they arrived back at the Mansion a couple hours later, Black Panther's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at seeing how many shopping bags Wasp and Luna had and the girls were giggling. "I guess there was a sale at the mall?" The black-suited hero said to Wasp.

She giggled. "Oh, Panther," she said. "Actually, most of this stuff is for Luna." She lowered her voice. "My gift to her, actually," she whispered.

He looked at her as Luna brought some more bags in and looked around. "I think that's everything," she said.

Wasp grinned. "Let's get them to our rooms," she said. "By the way, the room you woke up in this morning? Tony said it can be your room, if you want."

The young girl smiled. "Cool," she said, looking a bit more relaxed, which Black Panther noticed. As the girls were headed down the hall, Luna suddenly stopped and turned to Wasp. "Aunt Wasp?" She said.

"Yes?" The heroine said.

The young girl hugged her, which caught the young woman by surprise, but she hugged her back. "You okay, honey?" She asked softly.

Luna nodded, not saying a word, to which Wasp understood what she was saying. "I love you too, sweetie," she said softly.

Black Panther was surprised to see this, but smiled and nodded, turning to Captain America, who was also smiling. "Looks like she's more relaxed right now," he said.

"Yes," the black-suited hero said. "I was a little worried about her, that she'd run away at the first chance she got."

"Well, let's not push her," the first Avenger said. "It looks like she's bonded to Wasp, which is good. That's a good way to build trust."

Black Panther grew thoughtful. "I'll watch her and see how she interacts with the others," he said. "If everything goes well...I'll get those papers from the judge."

"Kid could use a good home," Captain America said, smiling. "She deserves it."

The black-suited hero agreed.

* * *

**So Luna has begun to bond with Wasp. Will she decide to stay now that she knows Black Panther wants to adopt her? Stay tuned to find out! :) **

**And please leave a review, but no flames! Any flames will be used to fire up the barbeque! :) **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

A day had passed since Black Panther had brought Luna to the Mansion and the twelve-year-old seemed to be settling in well. She was walking down another hallway after breakfast when she saw a room that was filled with computer screens and advanced tech. Curious, she entered the room, glancing around.

"Hello, Luna."

The girl jumped in surprise and just barely held back a yelp as she looked around, getting into a defensive position as she looked to see who was in the room with her.

"My apologies. It was not my intent to startle you," the voice spoke again.

Seeing no one, Luna slowly straightened. "Who's there?" She asked warily.

"I am J.A.R.V.I.S.," the voice said. "The computers and systems you see in front of you."

The girl's eyes widened. "An AI?" She asked, recalling her parents worked with some artificial intelligence once on their research sometime ago.

"Yes," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, sounding pleased that the girl had caught on so fast. "How are you settling in, Luna?"

"Pretty good, thank you," she said with a nod. She glanced around at the keyboards and other tech around her. "Are you like an advanced AI?" She asked.

"I am one of the most advanced artificial intelligence on the planet Earth," he said, sounding a bit smug.

Luna quietly huffed in amusement. _Modest, isn't he? _She asked herself before noticing a warning icon appeared. "What's that?" She asked.

"There seems to be something trying to get past my firewalls," the computer said before both heard something sparking.

Growing even more curious, Luna kneeled down under the consoles. "Let me see," she said and the panels slid open as she took a look inside. "Hmm, the wires and everything else look okay. Maybe you've got a circuit problem."

"It does seem to be attacking at my circuits," J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

Luna stood up and gently tapped another panel, which opened at once and she saw the problem. "This yellow wire looks out of place," she said.

"I do agree it's not part of my systems," the computer said. "It seems to be what is called 'piggybacking'."

The girl saw something on the wire and her eyes widened. "Oh, no," she said softly. "J.A.R.V.I.S., hang on a moment."

She glanced around and to her relief, there was an old computer nearby. "Okay, let's see if I remember what my mom did to get a virus out of the systems once," she muttered softly before her fingers flew over the keyboard, pressing on certain keys. "Alright J.A.R.V.I.S., let me in and put up your firewalls to the max."

"What are you going to do?" He asked as he did what she had asked him to do.

"I'm going to eject this virus," she said as she hit a final key before setting the computer aside and going over to the open panel, pulling out the wire that didn't belong as the virus traveled to the old computer. Seconds later, the screen on the old computer began to flash and the screen looked like a painting gone bad. "J.A.R.V.I.S., eject me out!" She said urgently.

The AI did so and the old computer went black, having been shut off the moment the plug was pulled. "Ah, that feels better," he said. "Thank you, Luna."

"Hold your applause," she said seriously. "I'm not done yet."

Moments later, she found what she was looking for, a small microchip that was trying to scurry away like a spider, but she caught it and held it between her fingers as if she was going to break it in half, which is what she did. The delicate circuitry sparked once before going dead. "Okay, now I'm done," she said.

"What was that exactly?" The AI asked.

"A weak attempt at a virus program," Luna replied. "My foster father from the recent home I fled was fooling around with creating viruses, but he thankfully wasn't good at making them, so this was a weak attempt by him." She turned the now-destroyed microchip over and nodded. "Both the wire and microchip have the same number, a 3."

"A rather unusual number to be a calling card," J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

"He did that because it's part of a number some people are afraid of," the girl said. "The number thirteen."

"I believe I see your point," he said. "Still, thank you."

"No problem," she said before growing curious. "Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., what can you tell me about the Avengers?"

For the next two hours, the AI went though the files on the Avengers, giving Luna the basics of each hero. The girl listened carefully and nodded when he was done. "J.A.R.V.I.S., have the Avengers ever lied to each other? Or betrayed each other's trust?"

The computer was quiet for a bit. "When some alien invaders came to masquerade as Captain America, the bonds of trust and friendship were tested and for a while, no one trusted anyone, not until recently." He said.

She recalled that. "Has anyone joined the Avengers recently?" She asked.

"The Vision is the one hero to have joined recently."

Luna nodded, now getting an idea as to where the microchip came from. The abusive man that was her foster father must have put it on her to keep track of her, but with her not being around computers before coming to the Mansion, he hadn't had a computer to try and hack in to, which was another skill he wasn't good at. "J.A.R.V.I.S., keep your sensors alert for any more microchips like that," she said before getting up and going to head out. She paused and turned. "By the way, where would the training room be?"

"Turn right as you head out and go straight down the hall. Take the third right you come to and it'll be the fourth door on your right," he said.

"Thank you," she said, heading out.

* * *

Thor had just arrived back from patrol with Hawkeye and both reported that all was well. "Any word on the police still looking for Luna?" Tony asked.

"They said the case is still open, but I think they're being tight-lipped about it otherwise, especially with her former foster parents still claiming she stole from them," Hawkeye said.

Captain America shook his head. "The police found the 'stolen' jewelry, so why are those two still trying to get the police to arrest Luna?" He asked.

Tony sighed. "We might have to ask Luna," he said as they looked at him incredulously. "Hear me out. We know the kid didn't steal from them, but she lived with them before she ran away. She would have learned how they work and what their activities are to have figured out the best way to escape."

"He is right," Thor said. "But Luna is still wary, though she and Wasp seem to have become friends."

Vision came into the room. "I have news," he said. "Luna found a rather weak virus in J.A.R.V.I.S.' systems."

Tony stood up abruptly at hearing that. "J.A.R.V.I.S., you okay, buddy?" He asked.

"I am well, Tony Stark," the AI said. "Luna looked into my systems and found the 'piggyback' wire that was trying to deliver the virus, but it was a weak one and she tricked the flow of data to go into an old computer. She also found a microchip that she recognized to be made by her former foster father. She said he dabbled in creating viruses, but wasn't good at doing so."

"Probably a good thing for us," Hawkeye said. "But how did that get past your security systems?"

"It is possible that the microchip, which was no bigger than a small spider, was hiding on Luna and sneaked by undetected."

"Could they have been searching for Luna?" Tony asked.

"Quite possible," Thor said.

"If so, then Luna is in grave danger," Vision said.

"Which may be why she's so wary," Captain America said. "She is unsure about trusting that she's safe here, but she must feel somewhat safe if she didn't run when Wasp took her shopping."

"Or she could be figuring out how to escape," Tony said with a sigh. "J.A.R.V.I.S., has Luna made any attempts to escape?"

"No," the AI replied. "She hasn't. She did ask where the training room was and is in there right now."

Thor grew thoughtful. "I'm curious to see what skills she has," he said before heading out.

"Wait up, big guy," Hawkeye said, following him.

* * *

Luna dodged another laser that was really a beam of light, the setting have been set to that so that if she did get hit, it wouldn't hurt. She climbed up a wall before doing a backflip to avoid another shot, landing on her feet just as the lasers stopped and she stood up, nodding.

"Not bad," came a voice that made her jump and she looked up to see who had entered the room.

"Hawkeye," she said without preamble before noticing the other hero beside him. "Thor. Can I help you both?"

"We were curious to see what skills you have," Thor said. "You seemed to be agile to have held your own against the lasers."

"Thanks," she said. "But lasers are predictable. I need a challenger that isn't predictable."

She then perked up. "Thor, you control thunder and Hawkeye, you have arrows that can do various things, right?"

"Yes?" Hawkeye said.

She nodded. "Would you two be up for sparring?" She asked.

Thor looked intrigued at the idea. "Alright," he said. "Though, two against one isn't exactly fair."

Luna smirked. "I escaped from a squad of police the night Black Panther found me, remember?"

Both chuckled, seeing the kid had guts. "Alright," he said. "Let's see what you got."

Half-an-hour later, both heroes were astounded to see that Luna had not only dodged lightning shots and arrows, but the girl didn't even look tired. "You have a strong endurance?" Thor asked her.

She nodded. "Usually I do, but the night Black Panther captured me, I had gone two days without eating anything but candy that I managed to smuggle and a day of not getting enough sleep," she said. "The day he found me was the day I had escaped from that foster home."

Hawkeye looked at her. "J.A.R.V.I.S. told us about you finding that virus in his system and you recognized the tech," he said. "Any reason your abusive foster father would be trying to find you?"

Luna shrugged. "Best guess, he either wants more money or he wants to impress some big men that look for the best cyber hackers or virus makers," she said. "He always talked about doing big stuff like that."

"Did he by chance mention any names?" Thor asked.

The twelve-year-old shook her head. "No, he never did," she said. "But he would brag about making a virus that would put even the best virus makers to shame."

"Looks like he's not even there yet if the virus was weak and you were able to eject it from J.A.R.V.I.S.' systems," Hawkeye said.

"Which is good," she said. "Cause I'm never going back there." She then paused. "You know, he has heard rumors about me having cat DNA in me."

Both heroes looked surprised at that. "But ye don't resemble a cat," Thor said before looking a little sheepish. "Forgive me. That was out of line."

Luna smiled. "It's okay," she said. "And I don't resemble a cat because I don't have cat DNA in me."

"Wonder who started that crazy rumor," Hawkeye said.

"Probably because my parents worked with cats," the girl said. "My folks were big on studying cats. Their whole focus was on cats, even after I was born." She smiled. "Believe it or not, I was raised beside some baby lions and panthers. The mothers had been raised by my parents."

Both heroes were wide-eyed at that and Luna managed to hide a giggle at their expressions. "It's true," she said. "My folks learned from the mother lion and mother panther about raising young and the mother cats accepted me as one of their clan. I even learned how to sneak around, escape, and even climb like them."

"That would explain how you're so agile at dodging shots or getting out of tight spots," Hawkeye said.

Thor smiled before looking curious. "Luna, Tony said that your parents and grandmother had passed away," he said gently.

She nodded, looking down for a moment before looking back up at them. "A man that wanted my parents to work for him didn't take it kindly when they turned down his offer," she said. "That night after dinner, my parents gave the mother cats and their cubs to an old friend who is a zookeeper and he promised to keep them safe. They then got me to the airport and put me on a plane to my grandmother's house. The plane was a private one that was piloted by a good friend of theirs and he got me to New York."

She paused before tears began to sting her eyes and she took a deep breath. "Two days after I arrived at my grandmother's, we got word that my parents were dead. My grandmother fell ill not long after and she died two years ago."

Both heroes looked at her sympathetically and Thor moved closer at seeing Luna was trying not to let her tears fall. Gently, he pulled her into a hug. She suddenly clung to him as a few tears fell. Hawkeye came closer and placed a hand gently on the kid's shoulder. "We're sorry, Luna," he said softly.

"Aye," Thor said just as softly.

She nodded and looked at them both, slightly pulling back from Thor and he let her, but she gave them both grateful looks. "Thanks for listening," she said softly.

They both nodded, none of them noticing Black Panther was watching.

The black-suited hero realized that the wounds Luna bore were deep, but he could see that she was beginning to trust them. And it seemed she had two new sparring partners too. Nodding, he moved away quietly, promising to himself that he wouldn't let those former foster parents get Luna.

After all, a father panther was protective of their clan just as a mother panther was protective of her young.

* * *

**Looks like Luna is doing better and hopefully Thor is right about anyone being foolish to try and break into the Mansion. :) **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

Luna smiled as she walked down the hallway. It had been about a week since Black Panther had brought her to the Avengers Mansion and she really liked it there, having bonded with Wasp, Thor, Hawkeye, and J.A.R.V.I.S. She felt happy that they treated her like they had known her for a long time and she had had fun shopping with Wasp and sparring with Thor and Hawkeye. She decided to head for the training room to practice climbing faster. She entered the training room and stopped short at seeing a huge green person smashing the training robots into scrap metal. She stood to the side, not wanting to get in the way as she watched with a little fear and some awe as the robots were reduced to nothing.

Hulk sensed someone watching and turned to find the kid behind him. He saw her swallow hard as he approached and he paused. "You're the kid Black Panther saved," he said.

"Y-Yes," Luna said, stammering a little.

"Thor and Hawkeye say you're a good sparring partner," Hulk continued. "How about we spar?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Um, I don't know if I'd be able to keep up with you," she said.

Hulk chuckled. "You mean you're scared Hulk will hurt ya," he said, seeing right through her. "Nah, Hulk won't hurt ya, but Hulk want to see your technique."

Well, Luna decided that she could do that and just watch to make sure he didn't catch her. "Well, okay," she said before taking a deep breath and looking at him. "Don't go easy on me. I don't like easy challenges."

Hulk smirked. "Neither does Hulk," he said as he charged at her. The twelve-year-old ducked and moved to the side, avoiding him, but she knew she couldn't keep dodging. While generally a smaller opponent was faster against a bigger opponent, Luna knew Hulk was fast, no doubt due to training. One would think that being so huge Hulk would be slow, but anyone to think that would be a fool.

Luna dodged again, but Hulk almost caught her and he smirked. "Come on," he said. "Give Hulk a challenge."

She now smirked. "Okay, Hulk," she said. "See if you can catch a kitty."

With that, she got out her climbing claws and ran towards a wall, jumping up and springing off of it to land on the other wall and start climbing rapidly. _Well, I did want to practice climbing faster, _she thought to herself as she turned to see where Hulk was.

He was right behind her.

Luna let out a scream of shock when she saw that and squirmed as Hulk scooped her up and jumped to the floor, landing and lightly pinning the twelve-year-old girl to the floor. She squirmed harder, but he didn't budge. "Look at that. Hulk caught a kitty," he said with a grin.

She glared up at him. "Oh, it's on, green giant," she said. "Rematch."

He chuckled and let her up before they went at it again. Luna again climbed faster and at one point slid back down on purpose, surprising the Hulk who had leapt up to catch her again and she jumped to another wall, climbing up faster now before she got to the top and went to take another leap to another wall. She landed and was about to start climbing again when something grabbed her leg and gave a gentle, but firm tug, making her lose her grip and she fell back right into Hulk's arms. "Green giant, huh?" He asked before poking her side.

Luna squeaked and squirmed. "Let go!" She said, some more giggles escaping her when Hulk wiggled his fingers into her ribs, especially her lowermost rib. She squeaked. "No! Not there!"

Hulk grinned. "Did Hulk find kitty's weak spot?" He asked teasingly before focusing his wiggling fingers on that lower rib, to which Luna burst into laughter, squealing and giggling.

* * *

Black Panther, hearing the commotion as he was headed for the training room, looked inside to see Luna was trapped in Hulk's arms and the giant hero was tickling her. The black-suited hero chuckled as Luna squirmed to get free, but was unable to. Hulk paused the tickle torture, letting Luna catch her breath. "Well, does the kitty yield?" He asked her playfully.

She giggled. "Okay, okay," she said, conceding. "You're actually the first to catch me, beside Black Panther."

Hulk chuckled. "You gave Hulk a challenge," he said. "And earned Hulk's respect. Well done."

Luna smiled. "Hey, can we spar again sometime?" She asked.

He smiled. "You say the word and Hulk's there," he said, holding out a hand for a handshake.

"Deal," she said, shaking his hand.

A little bit later, she was about to head to her room to read when someone swung in and landed in front of her. She paused before grinning. "Spiderman!" She said happily.

He turned and smiled. "You must be the new girl I've heard so much about," he said. "Luna, right?"

"Yeah," she said before looking concerned. "Is that man that runs that newspaper still giving you grief?"

Spiderman shrugged. "I'm used to it," he said.

Luna sighed. "I wish someone would just gag him and tie him to his chair," she said.

The webslinger chuckled in amusement before looking at her. "Hey, odd question, but do you think you could help me with an experiment?" He said.

She looked at him. "What kind of experiment?" She asked.

"Well, it's with human blood," he explained. "I'm going to examine blood samples to look at my own DNA, but I need the DNA of someone who...well, hasn't been bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to gamma rays or...,"

Luna held up a hand. "A human with normal DNA, right?" She asked with a smile.

Spiderman looked sheepish. "Sorry, I was trying to find something less offensive," he admitted.

"No offense taken," she said with a smile. "And I'd like to help out. My DNA hasn't been altered."

"Okay."

They went into the lab and Spiderman took a sample of Luna's blood, being very gentle, which the twelve-year-old was grateful for. He then took a sample of his own blood and put both samples under the microscope and turned on the magnifier so that they could both see. "Wow," Luna said, looking at the two samples. "That's kind of cool."

"Yeah," he said. "It's like another world."

He suddenly stopped as he noticed something odd in Luna's blood sample. "Luna, I thought you said your DNA hadn't been altered."

She gave him a confused look. "It hasn't been," she said before looking at the screen, knowing he saw something. "What do you see, Spidey?"

"Your DNA is altered by something," he said. "But...I can't tell what."

He began conducting a test, doing it twice, getting the same results. "J.A.R.V.I.S.," he said.

"Hello, Spiderman," came the AI's voice.

"Do a scan on Luna. I think her DNA has been altered."

Luna held still as the AI did a scan and the results came up in moments. "Luna's blood contains three types of DNA," he said. "Human, lion, and panther."

The girl looked at Spiderman. "Three types of DNA?" She asked in shock, sitting down. "But...how?"

The webslinger could see that the girl truly had had no idea. Black Panther came up to them. "What's going on?" He asked.

Luna looked up at him. "I have animal DNA in me," she said in shock.

He looked surprised and looked at Spiderman, who nodded. "She's got lion and panther DNA in her," he said.

Black Panther looked at Luna, who shrugged. "I have no idea why I'd have that in me," she admitted.

"Have you ever been sick that you can remember?" The webslinger asked.

She shook her head. "No," she said before looking thoughtful. "I wonder if the DNA is from Venus and Cleo."

"Who's Venus and Cleo?" Black Panther asked.

"The mother lion and mother panther that my folks had when I was little," she said. "I grew up alongside their cubs."

Spiderman looked a bit grim. "I hate to say this, but we have to tell the others," he said. "They need to know this."

Luna looked up. "You're right," she said. "Because I think that's one of the reasons my former foster father is looking for me. I thought it was just a rumor about me having cat DNA in me, but...it's apparently true."

* * *

When Tony heard that, he looked grim. "Okay, we're going to tighten our security here," he said and the other Avengers nodded. He turned to Luna. "Luna, I'm sorry, but until further notice, I suggest you don't leave the Mansion at all."

She nodded, but Captain America shook his head. "Tony, we can't keep her grounded here," he said. "It could be a long time before we catch her former foster father and it wouldn't be fair to her to be cooped up for so long."

Wasp nodded and got an idea. "How about this? If Luna wants to go out, two of us go with her," she said. "Double the protection."

Luna perked up, liking her aunt's idea. Tony gave it some thought before nodding. "Okay, but whoever is going with her lets the rest of us know, that way in case there's trouble, Luna will be safe and in case one gets hurt, the other can help out."

The others nodded, agreeing to the plan while Luna bowed her head, her mind still spinning over what Spiderman discovered. A hand rested on her shoulder and she turned to him. "Don't worry," he said. "We won't let that creep get you."

She sighed. "It's not that, Spidey," she admitted. "I just...I feel so...so...,"

"Unsure?" He supplied gently and she nodded. "I felt the same way after learning I had spider DNA in me and was learning about my powers. But you've got all of us to help you if you need it."

She gave him a grateful look. "Thanks," she said softly.

Black Panther nodded, but felt his own resolve harden. Luna's safety was now the top priority of the Avengers, especially him. He had put the adoption papers through to adopt the girl and this new discovery only made him hope the process would be over soon.

But he had a feeling, this was just the beginning.

* * *

**Bet you guys didn't see that coming, hmm? :) But yes, Luna has lion and panther DNA in her. **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

It had been a day since the discovery of the lion and panther DNA in Luna and she was in her room, wondering what to do. Usually, she'd want to be climbing the walls in the training room to practice agility, but she didn't feel like doing that. A knock at her open door made her look up and see Black Widow standing there. "Hey, Luna," she said with a smile. "You doing okay?"

The twelve-year-old sighed. "Physically, yeah. Mentally...still working that out," she admitted.

Natasha nodded before getting an idea. "Want to join me for a walk?" She offered. "Some fresh air could help."

Luna pondered that and nodded. "Okay," she said. "Whose going to come with us?"

"I will," came Vision's voice as he appeared in the doorway, making both girls jump in surprise.

"Vision," Natasha groaned at him.

"Apologies," he said.

Luna slipped on her shoes and pulled on a light jacket, pausing when she thought she heard something. She stood up quickly, her gaze unfocused. "Luna?" She heard Vision asked and she blinked, looking puzzled before shaking her head. "Are you alright?" The android hero asked gently.

She looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "I thought I heard something, but it probably was just my imagination."

He nodded with a gentle smile before he, Natasha, and Luna headed out. Once they stepped out of the building, the android hero flew high into the sky while the young woman and twelve-year-old walked down the sidewalk.

Luna took a deep breath, the air actually smelling clean for once. "Did it rain last night?" She asked.

"It might have," Natasha said. "The air does smell clean for a change."

They were about to cross the street when Luna froze with a gasp, hearing a familiar roar. "Luna?" The heroine asked, pausing in front of her. "Are you okay? What is it?"

The girl looked at her. "It's Cleo. I'm sure of it," she said, looking at the older woman. "I can hear her. She's close."

Natasha was a bit skeptical, but Vision came closer. "The same roar you heard earlier?" He asked.

Luna looked at him. "You heard it too?" She asked.

"Just now I did," he said. "I picked up on your thoughts earlier that you thought you had heard a familiar roar."

The girl nodded, her eyes widening. "Hold on, I think I'm picking up her scent," she said before realizing what was going on. "I think the DNA gave me enhanced hearing and smelling capabilities."

Natasha decided that as strange as it sounded, it was best to take a look into this. "Okay," she said. "Luna, lead the way."

The girl at once did so with the two following her and it wasn't long before they arrived at the docks by the Hudson River. Luna gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. A black panther was in a cage and Kraven was beside it. "Ah, a fine beast," he said. "You'll bring it a good profit."

The panther growled and Luna glared at the hunter. She looked at Black Widow and Vision, who both nodded. "We really don't have time to call for more backup," Natasha said worriedly.

Vision looked thoughtful before nodding. "Natasha, how about you and I handle Kraven and give Luna time to free Cleo?" He said.

The heroine nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said. She looked at Luna. "Wait for Vision to give you a signal that it's clear."

The twelve-year-old girl nodded, ducking down behind a crate nearby while the two heroes moved in, surprising the hunter, who glared at them. "You won't keep me from making a profit off this cat's pelt!" He growled.

"Watch us," Natasha said as she and Vision moved in, dodging Kraven's whip and knife attacks.

"_Luna, now!" _Vision told the girl telepathically.

Without hesitation, the girl went over to the cage and kneeled down, really hoping that this panther was her old friend. "Cleo?" She said softly.

The Panther looked at her before coming closer and sniffing her hand and then she rubbed her head against Luna's hand. "It is you, girl," the twelve-year-old said happily, taking this as a sign that Cleo recognized her. "Hold on. I'll get you out."

With that, she pulled out one of her climbing claws and picked the lock, getting it open and opening the cage. Cleo jumped out before rubbing her head against Luna's waist, purring. Luna kneeled down and petted her, to which Cleo nuzzled her nose against the girl's face, acting as if Luna was one of her own cubs. "Oh, Cleo," the girl said, tears in her eyes.

Natasha suddenly landed by them and groaned as Kraven's whip had gotten her in the side. "Black Widow!" Luna said in worry as she kneeled down beside the woman and Cleo snarled, moving to stand over Luna and Natasha protectively.

Kraven growled. "Down, beast!" He said, snapping his whip at the panther, who dodged and roared at him, jumping at him and making him back up a step as her claws nearly got him and Vision took advantage of that to throw Kraven into the river, making the hunter sputter in rage as the police came and took him in while the android gave Natasha, Luna, and Cleo a lift back to the mansion. The panther was quite calm, to his surprise and Luna giggled at seeing his surprised face.

"Mom and Dad liked to travel a lot, so Venus and Cleo often traveled with us," she said. "They had been traveling since they were cubs themselves, so flying really isn't a big deal to them."

Natasha chuckled, wincing as her side hurt a bit. "You're full of surprises, kid," she said as they landed at the Mansion and Vision took the female heroine to the sick bay with Luna and Cleo following.

Captain America and Wasp, the only two at the Mansion at the moment, came in, looking surprised at seeing the large panther, but Luna looked up at them. "It's okay," she said. "It's Cleo. Let her get your scents."

Wasp held out a hand, relaxing only when Cleo purred and rubbed her head against the outstretched hand. "Wow, she's beautiful," she said.

Captain America nodded before seeing Natasha was injured. "What happened?" He asked.

"Kraven," Vision said. "He had Cleo and Luna freed her while Natasha and I dealt with the hunter, but he managed to get her in the side with his whip."

"It doesn't hurt that bad," the female heroine said before wincing. "For the most part."

Tony came in just as Vision finished treating Natasha's injury. "It's all over the news about what happened at the docks," he said, seeing Cleo and his eyes widened in surprise. "Um, is this the same panther from the docks?"

Luna nodded. "It's Cleo," she said, standing beside the panther. "She recognized me and I heard her long before we got to the docks."

"The animal DNA gave her advanced hearing and smelling abilities," Vision said in explaination. "And Cleo greeted Luna as if she was one of her young."

Tony nodded, jumping slightly when Cleo nuzzled his hand, but he moved his hand to give her an ear scratch, which she apparently liked. Luna giggled. "Cleo knows who means harm and who is good," she said before looking up at Tony. "Can she stay here? Please?"

Black Panther, who had just arrived, was watching the exchange and hoped Tony would say yes. He was already deciding on talking to a friend he knew to see about getting the papers Luna would need in order to show that she was authorized to have a panther in her possession.

Tony thought for a moment and then nodded. "You guys just found each other and it would be unfair to separate you two," he said. "She can stay."

Luna had tears in her eyes and she hugged Tony, who was surprised, but he lightly patted her shoulder, knowing she was expressing gratitude. "Thank you, Tony," she said softly before looking sad, which he noticed.

"What's wrong, kid?" He asked in concern.

She looked up at him. "I just wish I knew where Venus was," she said. "What if Kraven got to her already?"

"He didn't," Vision said gently. "I probed his mind while Natasha and I were battling him. He only had Cleo."

"Which means Venus is still out there," Wasp said, feeling sympathy for her niece.

Tony looked thoughtful and placed a hand on Luna's shoulder, making her look up at him. "Luna, I promise you, I'll keep an eye out and if I hear anything about a lion from someone, I'll look into it," he said.

"We will too," Black Panther said with a nod, coming in and placing a hand on Luna's other shoulder. "Have hope, Luna."

She nodded as the others silently vowed to help the girl find Venus too. Cleo came up and purred at Luna, who kneeled down and hugged the panther, taking comfort from her as the female cat purred louder, helping the girl to feel better and have hope that they'd all be together again soon.

* * *

**So Cleo has now been found, but will they find Venus? Stay tuned to find out. :) Next up: Vision helps Luna. **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Black Panther was getting concerned about Luna. He had noticed that a day after they had gotten Cleo away from Kraven, the girl had seemed happy, but then her mood seemed to go downhill. It worried him to the point that on the second evening he had noticed her seeming down, he went to talk to her.

"Luna?" He called out gently.

The twelve-year-old looked up from a book she had been reading, or at least trying to read. "Yes, Black Panther?" She asked curiously.

Cleo, who was beside her, lifted her head up as the black-suited hero approached. He held out a hand for the cat to sniff and she nuzzled his hand, purring. Taking that to mean she was alright with him being around her and Luna, he sat down beside the girl. "Are you feeling well, young one?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she said, but her face said otherwise.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Luna, if something is bothering you, you can come talk to me," he said before he realized something. "Is the idea of me adopting you worrying you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head before looking up at him. "Although, I am curious as to why you want to adopt me. Aunt Wasp said you felt you couldn't abandon me since you're a protector."

Black Panther chuckled. "That is true, and in a way, I guess I see you as a young cub, much like how Cleo does," he said, reaching over to give Cleo a chin scratch, to which the large cat purred even louder and one of her back feet kicked in the air, making Luna giggle.

"She's always done that," she said. "She loves chin scratches."

The black-suited hero chuckled again before looking serious. "Luna, can you be honest with me?" He asked. She nodded. "How do you like it here?"

Luna was quiet for a bit before taking a deep breath. "I really like it here," she admitted. "None of you have tried to hurt me and you all were really concerned when we learned I had panther and lion DNA in me."

"Because we're worried that your former foster father might try something," he said.

She looked up at him. "If he did ever manage to kidnap me, would you all go after him to rescue me?" She asked.

"Yes," he said instantly. "And I would give him something to remember. It is not wise to invoke a panther's wrath."

The twelve-year-old year old nodded before sighing a little. "I just hope you can catch him and put him away soon," she said. "I heard he's still trying to get the police to arrest me for theft."

"He is, but the police know you didn't steal anything," Black Panther said. "We'll catch him and when we do, he'll be put in jail far away from here where he'll never bother you again or come after you again."

"That would be nice," she admitted before looking up at him. "And...I think I'd rather have you as a dad than him."

The black-suited hero smiled at that. "Hopefully the paperwork will go through soon and you will officially be my daughter," he said.

Luna smiled a bit before looking worried. "Will I have to call you 'Dad' right away?" She asked.

Black Panther chuckled, not taking offense as he knew the girl was asking a valid question. "You can call me that when you're ready to," he said.

Seeming relieved that he had said that, she looked down before sighing and standing up. "I better get to the training room. I need to work on climbing the walls faster," she said before heading out. Cleo lifted her head and gave a questioning purr.

"I know," Black Panther said with a nod. "Something else is bugging her."

He was right.

* * *

Luna climbed the walls in the training room, but her heart wasn't really into it. She frowned as she tried to focus on climbing faster, but she just couldn't get into it, sighing as she just kept climbing, not really paying attention, but rather moving by instinct.

Vision, who had been passing by, paused at hearing Luna's turmoiled thoughts and he entered, feeling the young girl's jumbled emotions hit him as he spotted her climbing up the walls. He floated upwards and was soon next to her. "Luna," he said, making her look at him. "Are you alright?"

Though he could tell she wasn't, he knew that the situation was delicate, plus he wanted to get Luna to open up to him. He saw her sigh and she motioned downward to the floor, leaping and using her walls to help control her descent while the android hero floated down and they were soon standing on the floor. Luna looked up at him.

"I'm...still trying to come to terms about the cat DNA in me," she admitted, hugging herself. "Not only that, I'm worried about Venus. I miss her."

Vision could feel and see just how much turmoil the twelve-year-old was feeling and he moved closer, gently pulling her into a hug, keeping his hold light so that she could pull away if she wanted to. To his surprise, she just wrapped her arms around him as tears filled her eyes. Sensing that she needed comfort, he gently wrapped part of his cape around her, holding her gently. She not only tightened her hold on him, but also rested her head against his shoulder. Taking this as a sign of trust, the android hero was quiet, deciding to wait until the girl decided to speak.

After a few moments, Luna looked up at him, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I just don't know what to do," she admitted. "I...I thought I was normal."

Vision nodded gently. "You went from feeling you were normal to now realizing you are special," he said, deciding to put it delicately.

She snorted. "Special. That's just another word for mutant," she said.

"I didn't mean it like that," the android hero said gently.

She sighed. "I know," she said. "It's just the truth and now the man I was hoping to never worry about again is after me, I'm not fully human, and...I just really don't know what to feel right now."

Vision began rubbing Luna's back to help soothe her. "We'll find Venus," he said reassuringly. "And your parents no doubt had a good reason for integrating cat DNA into your own DNA. Perhaps they wanted you to have a special connection with Cleo and Venus."

She shrugged, still uncertain before bursting into giggles as the android began tickling her. "Hulk mentioned how you were quite ticklish when he caught you the other day in training," he said with a smirk as he tickled her lowermost ribs, recalling that the green hero had mentioned that Luna couldn't stand being tickled there.

He found it to be true as she squealed and tried to get away, but he had her. "Well, well, looks like my associate was right about your tickle spot," he said as he continued tickling her.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHEHEHEHEHEHEHEN IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI SEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIM AGAIN, HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE'S SOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO GONNA GEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT!" Luna squealed out, laughing as Vision again focused on those lowermost ribs, his fingers tickling her rapidly and leaving her in a constant stream of laughter and giggles.

Miss Marvel, who had been searching for Vision, smiled as she found him tickling Luna and smirked. "Hey, Vision," she said.

"Miss Marvel," he said with a nod, smiling at her. "Care to join me?"

"Thought you'd never ask," she said. "From what I hear, Luna could use every ounce of happiness right now."

"You got that right."

Luna squirmed to get away, but when both began tickling her ribs all over and her sides, she laughed her hardest, unable to stop them, but after a bit, the two stopped and the young girl let out a few more giggles before sitting up. "Feeling better, kid?" Miss Marvel asked.

"Yes," the twelve-year-old said, smiling.

"Good, because I've got some good news," the female hero said with a smile, noting how Luna perked up at that. "I think we've located Venus."

"For real?" The young girl asked, hope in her voice.

"Yes. Tony's working on a way to find out for sure."

Luna could have danced for joy at hearing that and Vision smiled, glad to see the child was doing better.

And he hoped too that they had indeed found Venus, but only time would tell.

* * *

**Well, looks like Luna and Cleo just might be reunited with Venus, if it is her that Tony has found. :) **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

After lunch, Tony called Luna to come into his office and he smiled at her. "I believe we might have found Venus," he said. "There's an animal show that just acquired a lion and they are showing her off tonight."

The girl felt hope fill her before she looked worried. "But...the animal show owners might not be so willing to part with Venus as Kraven wasn't willing to part with Cleo," she said.

"True, but if they hear they were sold a stolen animal, they will most likely settle the matter then and there rather than have a lawsuit brought against them," the businessman said. "I have my lawyers ready to bring the lawsuit forward if the owners refuse to give Venus to us."

Luna looked at him. "Do you really think that'll work?" She asked.

"Yes, but here's the tricky part. We need to get into the place that has the animal show and it's a black-tie event," he said.

"In other words, only those on the guest list go in," she said.

Tony had to give the kid credit for catching on so fast. "Right," he said. "So unless an invitation comes through, we're a bit stuck."

Luna looked at him. "And the Avengers can't go in without proof, can they?" She asked.

"That and the one hosting the party is the mayor," Tony said. "So it's a real pickle."

The girl was upset, but understood. "So what do we do?" She asked. "Sneaking in won't work with security guards around."

"True, not even with Vision's phasing abilities," the businessman said with a nod.

"Excuse me, Mr. Stark?" A familiar voice came.

"Yes, J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Tony asked.

"An important invitation has arrived for you, sir."

A slot open in Tony's desk and the invitation popped out of it. Taking it, he took a look and he smiled. "Well, well, we just caught a lucky break," he said, holding up the invitation. "I've just been invited to this black-tie event and I can bring two guests."

"Two guests?" Luna asked in surprise.

"Yes," Tony said with a smile. "Carol and you."

The twelve-year-old looked surprised, but then sobered. "But Tony, I don't have anything fancy to wear," she said. "And black-tie events are very fancy."

"True," he said with a nod. "But I bet we can figure something out."

"If I may," came Black Panther's voice and they turned to see him at the door.

"Come in, Panther," Tony said with a smile.

The black-suited hero came in, carrying a large white box and setting it on the desk. "I was originally going to save this for when the adoption papers went through, but under the circumstances, I believe this might help you blend in at the event, Luna," he said.

She looked at the box and looked back at him. "What is it?" She asked, her voice having a curious, but unsure, note.

"Open it and see," Black Panther encouraged her.

Biting her lip, Luna carefully opened the box, her eyes widening as she gasped at what she saw. Carefully, she reached in and picked up a dress that was black with white and gold accents. A pair of gold flats nestled in the tissue paper underneath the dress. "It's beautiful," she said in awe.

Tony whistled. "Now that will definitely help you blend in for this mission," he said.

Luna turned to Black Panther and hugged him, feeling a bit overwhelmed, but happy that they had a chance to see if Venus was with the animal show. "Thank you," she said softly, tears in her eyes.

He hugged her back. "You're welcome, Luna," he said, a smile in his voice.

Luna looked at Tony. "When's the event?" She asked.

He looked at the invitation. "It's tonight," he said. "At 6 o'clock."

She blinked. "He's not wasting time, is he?" She asked, sounding skeptical. "J.A.R.V.I.S., can you find out when the invitation was made? Like what day and time?"

"Yes," the AI said as it scanned the invitation, completing the analysis in less than a minute. "The invitation was made just this morning."

"Hmm, that does seem to be a short amount of time," Tony said. "Not much time to RSVP."

Luna looked thoughtful. "He wants to impress someone," she said before looking down. "My former foster father once did that as he wanted to sell some men a cheap product at a high price and he pulled out all the stops to make it appear genuine."

"What happened?" Black Panther asked.

"They told him they had other plans and couldn't come. He was asking them to cancel their plans and come to his party immediately, not giving them time to clear their calendars or to RSVP, which is proper when you want to have some important people attend a party."

"Perhaps they sensed he was about to try and sell them a bad product," Tony said with a nod. "It is a little odd, but it could be that he had everything all planned out ahead of time and did a rush job on the invitations."

"Nevertheless, if Venus is at that animal show, this is our only shot to get her out," Black Panther said.

Luna nodded before looking at him. "Do you think I can do this?" She asked. "I've never really been to a fancy party before."

"Don't worry," Tony said reassuringly. "Just stick with me or Carol. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

She nodded before looking curious. "Who's Carol?" She asked curiously.

"My name," came Miss Marvel's voice as she entered, smiling. "What's going on?"

Tony showed her the invite and she nodded. "It's been a bit since I dressed up," she said. "But alright. And I really hope the matter can be settled swiftly without drawing a lot of attention."

"Believe me, Carol, I hope that too," Tony said.

Luna took the box that contained her dress and shoes. "Well, if we only have a few hours before the event, I better start getting ready," she said.

She headed to her room and looked at herself in the mirror before getting an idea and going to Wasp's room, knocking gently on the door. Wasp answered and smiled. "Hey, sweetie," she said, holding her arms out for a hug, which Luna gladly gave her. "Everything okay?"

"Acutally, I was hoping you could help me, Aunt Wasp," the twelve-year-old girl said. "Tony got invited to a black-tie event and it's going to have an animal show, one that recently acquired a lion. We're hoping it might be Venus."

Wasp nodded. "Hopefully it is," she said. "How can I help you?"

"Well...I've never dressed up before for a party and Black Panther got me a dress and shoes, but I don't know what style to do for my hair and would you by chance have a pair or black tights I can borrow?"

The heroine grinned. "Let me grab some stuff and I'll meet you in your room."

Fifteen minutes later, Luna was standing in front of the mirror, wearing the lovely dress that felt like silk and the tights that Wasp let her borrow blended in nicely. She put on her slippers for now as there was still a bit of time before the party. "Okay, let's see," Wasp said, thinking. "We should do a style that's cute, but makes you look mature."

"What do you think would be best?" Luna asked.

"Well, we can pull back part of your hair and do a fancy barrette in the back and let the rest of your hair flow down or a French braid."

The girl nodded. "I think French braid might be best," she said.

Wasp nodded. "I think so too."

Moments later, Luna's dark red hair was pulled back into a French braid and Wasp smiled before pulling something out from a bag she had. "I saw this the other day and thought of you," she said, handing Luna a small white box.

Carefully opening it, the girl gasped at seeing a beautiful gold dolphin pendant on a gold chain. She looked at her aunt. "How did you know I loved dolphins too?" She asked.

Wasp winked. "I saw you reading a book about them one day and you seemed really engrossed into it," she said.

Luna hugged her. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

"You're welcome. Oh, and these earrings go with it too."

A set of gold dolphin earrings were in another box and Wasp helped Luna put them and the necklace on before stepping back and smiling. "Tony better keep you close because the guys' jaws are going to drop," she said teasingly.

The twelve-year-old girl laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be sticking with Tony and Carol tonight," she said.

"Good," Wasp said before noticing the time. "Oh, better grab some dinner. There's two hours before the event."

Luna put on her gold flats and walked carefully down the hallway, turning to look at Wasp. "How do I look?" She asked.

Wasp smiled. "Like a princess," she said. "You know, you'll essentially be royalty when Black Panther adopts you. He is of royal blood himself."

The girl blinked. "For real?" She asked.

"Yes," came Black Panther's voice as he chuckled. "It is true and you do look lovely, Luna."

"Thanks," she said before sighing. "I just hope I don't mess up."

"You'll be fine," the black-suited hero said reassuringly.

* * *

After a good dinner, they were on their way. Tony was wearing a tuxedo and Carol was wearing a floor-length red dress that shimmered when she moved with red flats. A black feather mask was around her eyes to help hide her black eye mask and her hair was pulled back into a perfect bun. When she stepped out of the limo, cameras started snapping, but she ignored them as she held out a hand to Luna, who took it and stepped out, looking a bit nervous with all the cameras. Tony stepped out of the limo behind her, moving to block the girl from the cameras, ignoring the questions that were being shouted as he and Carol walked up to the door with the twelve-year-old girl between them. Luna gave them grateful looks as they made it to the door.

"Name?" The doorman asked.

"Tony Stark," Tony introduced, holding up his invitation. "And my two guests, Miss Carol and Miss Luna."

The doorman nodded and allowed them to enter. Once inside, Luna let out a breath of relief. Carol smiled gently. "I know," she said gently. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

The grand hall of the building the mayor had rented was very grand and Luna spotted a sign showing where the animal show would be. She took Tony's hand and he looked down at her. "Look," she said softly, gesturing with her head to the sign.

He nodded and looked at Carol, who nodded and the three made their way to where the sign was. A footman was there and he looked at them. "Forgive us, my niece is very fond of animals and was hoping for a sneak peak," Tony said smoothly.

"But the show does not start for another hour, sir," the footman said.

"We understand. It's just that we've heard that so many wonderful animals were going to be here," Carol said sweetly.

Luna quietly took a deep breath and looked up at the footman. "Please?" She asked sweetly.

The footman looked at her and looked around. "Alright," he said, allowing them in. "If anyone asks, I can say you wanted to get good seats for the show."

"Thank you, my good man," Tony said, slipping him a tip for his kindness.

They walked down the hallway and Luna stopped suddenly, softly gasping. "I hear her," she whispered. "She's here."

The three quickly moved to where the animal show was and sure enough, the first cage contained a lion and it didn't look to be in good shape. A keeper was beside it and she looked distraught. "We can't show her tonight," she said to a man beside her.

"But we promised a lion," the man said.

"Excuse me, folks," Tony said, getting their attention. "I was hoping to speak to the owner of the animal show."

"That is I, Mr. Stark," the man said. "Thomas Goodling. How can I help you?"

"Forgive me, but I have reason to believe you may have bought a stolen lion," the businessman said.

Mr. Goodling froze. "Bought a stolen lion?" He asked in shock. "That is a grave accusation."

"I'm sure you were unaware it was stolen when you bought it," Tony said smoothly. "My niece is the rightful owner of this lion and it was stolen from her sometime back."

The man looked at the girl. "Is this true?" He asked her.

"Yes, sir," Luna said. "Please, can you tell me who you bought her from? I might know who sold her to you."

Mr. Goodling nodded. "Someone named David. He wouldn't give his last name."

The girl froze at that. "My former foster father," she said. "So he's the one that stole Cleo and Venus."

The lion perked up at hearing the last name and the lady keeper gasped, making them look at her. "I think...she just reacted to the child speaking her name," she said.

Luna moved closer to the cage. "Venus?" She asked.

The lion looked at her and began purring. The lady keeper placed a bit of meat in front of the lion, who ate it. "She's eating," she said. "She wouldn't do that for a while."

Mr. Goodling looked nervous. "It seems this lion truly is yours, child," he said.

Tony felt some diplomacy was required. "Perhaps I can reimburse you for what you paid for Venus," he said. "I guarantee you it'll cost less than a lawsuit."

"Yes, you're right," the man said. "Well, to be honest, her selling price was rather low. The man only asked four grand for her."

"Four thousand dollars?" Carol asked. "Wonder why he put it so low?"

"Probably to keep from attracting too much attention," Luna said.

"She's right," Tony said.

Mr. Goodling agreed to Tony's offer of reimbursement. "And for what it's worth, I truly am sorry," the man said. "I had no idea she was stolen. If I had known, I would have sought her true owners out immediately."

Luna smiled at him. "I forgive you," she said graciously.

"I knew it."

At the voice, Luna gasped and turned quickly to find the very man she didn't want to see standing by Venus' cage. "If you had an inkling Venus was here, you'd come," he said.

"David, I presume?" Carol asked as Luna backed up to Tony, who placed a hand on her shoulder protectively.

"The same," he said with a smug look. "Luna, I pose a challenge for you."

She glared at him. "Forget it," she said. "You'll never win. We're taking Venus and leaving."

David was about to reach for a gun when Carol grabbed him. "Don't even think about it," she said, throwing him to the side where he hit the floor, the impact knocking him unconscious.

It was only a matter of minutes to get Venus loaded up into a van and delivered to Stark Tower and while Tony and Miss Marvel worked to help the lioness to recover from not eating and a mild case of dehydration, Luna stayed beside her, not budging from her cat friend's side. "Venus," she said softly, petting her. Venus purred affectionately, nuzzling the girl's hand.

Tony came up to her and gently picked Luna up, seeing the girl was still a bit in shock over what had happened. "She'll be okay, Luna," he said soothingly as he carried her out of the med bay with Miss Marvel following. Both went into Luna's room and sat on the bed as the girl just clung to Tony, tears in her eyes. Black Panther walked in and he looked at them before going up to Luna and kneeling in front of her.

"Luna, I'll watch over Venus," he said.

Luna didn't respond to him and Carol nodded. "She's still in shock," she said.

Nodding, the black-suited hero left and Tony, Carol, and Luna didn't sleep that night as the girl was still in a catatonic state, though the two knew she heard their words of comfort as they both held her, trying to reassure her that she was safe and that Cleo and Venus were safe too.

It was soon morning and Black Panther came in with Venus beside him, who had recovered quickly. The lioness gave a friendly growl and it seemed to wake Luna from her trance. "Venus?" She asked.

Cleo, who had been down the hallway, let out a welcoming roar and bounded into the room, recognizing Venus and the two cats purred happily at each other before going up to Luna, who cried as she hugged them both.

Tony and Carol smiled before seeing that Luna looked really tired. "How about you get some sleep, Luna?" Carol said gently.

Her words seemed to take immediate effect and the twelve-year-old fell sound asleep with Venus and Cleo curled up around her, the two cats seeming to not only form a bed for the girl, but also a protective circle. Tony smiled at this and they went to leave before hearing Luna speak.

"Thank you, Tony. Thank you, Carol. Thank you...Dad."

The three looked at each other and Tony and Carol smiled at Black Panther, who smiled as he looked at Luna. "Sweet dreams, my daughter," he said softly before they left.

Tony looked at Black Panther. "We ran into her former foster father last night," he said.

"He was the one that sold Venus to the animal show owner," Carol said.

Hearing that, the black-suited hero grew furious and his claws unsheathed. "I'll settle this once and for all," he said. "For Luna's sake, I swear I will."

Tony and Carol looked at each other, knowing their friend meant business and that David was going to learn what happened when one of Black Panther's own was threatened.

* * *

**Get ready! It's about to get crazy. :) **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

Luna's former foster father was desperate. "I've got to get her back," he said. "Only she can make my computer viruses stronger and her cat DNA will bring me big bucks."

He was furious with himself that his plan to kidnap Luna had failed at the black-tie event. He hadn't even considered that she might have had some help and the owner of the animal show was furious that he had been sold a stolen animal and though he had been reimbursed by Tony Stark, Mr. Goodling was threatening to bring a lawsuit against David.

His wife came in. "David, you said we'd soon have Luna again," she said.

"I know, I know," he said, pacing. "Because she knows how to either destroy or make viruses better! I've seen her do it! And when she destroyed the microchip on her, I got a signal that it had been uploading the virus, but she caught it and destoryed it! And the only way she could have found that lion is because of her cat DNA."

She sighed. "Well, I'm heading out," she said. "Good luck."

David watched his wife head out and he went back to planning another attempt to get Luna when the lights went out and he looked around before hearing a growl. "David," he heard and turned just as the lights came back on to reveal Black Panther in the room and he looked furious. "You have threatened one of my own."

The man began looking afraid now. "What are you talking about?" He asked, getting ready to run.

Black Panther snarled and his claws came out. "Don't play dumb with me!" He snarled as he began smashing the computers in the room.

David started to really get freaked out now as the angry hero smashed every computer in the room to pieces and slashed at any computer equipment in the room, rendering it useless. The man went to run, but a hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back. "I know you've been hunting for Luna and looking to hurt her again," the black-suited hero snarled. "You will never get ahold of her again. She is _my_ daughter."

A scream suddenly was heard. "I've done nothing wrong!" David heard his wife call out as pounding feet hit the stairs. Black Panther let the man go just before the police entered and their weapons were aimed at David.

"Here's the one we want," said one policeman.

Another approached him. "You and your wife are under arrest on domestic terrorism charges, child abuse, forgery, and identity theft," he said, placing handcuffs on David.

"But how?" He asked, bewildered.

The lady cop among them smiled. "We got a tip about your dealings," she said. "Take him away, boys."

As they dragged David outside, Black Panther followed and saw Luna get out of another squad car with Tony beside her, as the businessman had worked with the girl to take the girl's former foster parents down once and for all. David saw her and he looked angry, but his look of anger faded when Luna walked right up to him, her face deadly calm, but her eyes were smoldering with anger. She looked him dead in the eye.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore," she said, her voice sure. "And all those people you were trying to impress now know who you really are."

His face crumpled and his wife screamed. "You ungrateful girl!" She snarled. "After we took you in! First you steal from us and then this?!"

"It's funny you should mention theft, because that's another charge you both are facing," said the police chief as he came up to them. "That jewelry you claim she stole were pieces you had stolen yourself. The true owners have filed reports."

The lady's face crumpled too and Black Panther stood next to Luna, glaring at the couple. "Hear my words well," he said. "Leave Luna alone, or you will not only face the Avengers, but myself as well."

The couple looked afraid at the threat and were soon taken away. The police chief went up to Luna, smiling at her. "Luna, we're sorry we were chasing you before," he said.

She smiled. "You were doing your job, sir," she said understandingly. "And it was a blessing in disguise, because Black Panther found me that night."

"And I'm glad," he said. "The judge who handles adoptions is a good friend of mine and I hear you have someone looking to adopt you."

Black Panther nodded. "The paperwork just went through today," he said. "Luna is officially my daughter."

The police chief smiled and nodded. "And she'll never have to worry about these two crooks again. They're going away for a long time," he said. "Have a good night."

After he left and the other police left, Luna looked up at Tony, who smiled and nodded. "We were going to tell you tomorrow, but I think now's a good time," he said. "The adoption process is complete and you now have a forever home at the Mansion."

Luna looked up at him gratefully. "Wasp did say you were serious about me not having to worry about moving again," she said. "She said you don't do anything in halves."

The businessman laughed warmly. "That's the truth," he said before nodding to Black Panther and starting to walk away. "Right now, I think I'll leave you and Panther to talk."

She nodded and turned to the hero who not only saved her, but called her his daughter. "Black Panther, do you really want me as a daughter?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, I do, but I wanted you to decide for yourself if you wanted to be my daughter," he said. "It's the very reason I was observing your interactions with the team and I was pleased to see that not only did the others help you fit in, but you seemed to take to them too."

She looked at him. "Did you set any of them up to spend time with me?" She asked.

"No," he said gently. "That was up to them, though I did know that Wasp wanted to take you shopping and Hulk was interested in seeing how you fought. I did ask him to take it easy on you as you're young, but it seems you impressed him."

Luna giggled. "He might be big, but he's quick," she said. "I had to really think on my feet."

Black Panther chuckled. "And then when you got Cleo and Venus back, you seemed to come out of your shell," he said. "Those two have even been moving around the house and apparently have deemed everyone to be part of their pack."

The twelve-year-old nodded. "They do that to see if anyone might be a threat or not," she said. "If there's someone they don't like, they'll chase them off, but you have to be careful, because they also love to play and if you catch them in a playful mood, you're the one that going to get chased when they went to chase something."

The black-suited hero laughed heartily. "That would explain why they were running after Spiderman the other day and the poor boy was so afraid that when they pounced on him, he thought they would eat him."

The girl giggled again. "Nah, they wouldn't," she said. "But they do love a good game of chase."

Black Panther nodded and noticed the time. "We best get back to the Mansion," he said before crouching down. "Climb aboard."

Luna was surprised, but did as she was told, remembering that her father used to give her piggy-back rides when she was little. She held on as the black-suited hero leapt in long, graceful leaps before they arrived at the huge home and Luna slid down off the hero's back and turned to him. "You know, ever since I learned about you, I wanted to be your daughter," she admitted. "But I didn't know how you'd feel about it, which is why I wasn't so willing to listen to you when you first found me."

He smiled. "And the reason you were adamant on not staying when you woke up in the morning?" He asked gently.

"Yeah," she admitted softly.

The black-suited hero placed a hand on her shoulder. "Luna, I would be very proud to have you as my daughter," he said. "And with the adoption papers officially passed, I think it's time I took you under my wing."

She looked at him curiously and he smiled. "If you want to join the Avengers," he said.

Luna was shocked. "You mean...I would join the Avengers?" She asked.

"If you want to," he told her.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she hugged him and he returned the hug before she looked up at him and nodded. "I'd like that...Dad," she said, saying the last word shyly.

He nodded. "Then let's go, my daughter," he said, taking her inside the mansion. Luna was eager to get started as not only the newest Avenger, but as Black Panther's new daughter.

* * *

**Well, Luna has officially been adopted and her former foster parents are arrested. Finale is coming up next! :) **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I want to extend a big thank you to Steelcode and to WindAuthor for reminding me of the people of Wakanda and Black Panther's sister, Shuri. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

With the adoption being official, Black Panther decided it was time to bring Luna to his village and introduce her to the people of Wakanda and to his sister, Shuri. He hoped that Luna would be accepted, though he had a feeling she would be. The people of Wakanda respected him and his sister and would surely respect his new daughter.

Luna was currently packing to go with her new father to see the village where he was king and to meet her new aunt, but she was a bit scared. Vision, sensing her fear, came in to see her. "Luna, are you alright?" He asked.

"Honestly, I'm scared," she said. "I mean, Aunt Wasp said I'd become royalty when Dad adopted me, but to now go see the village and the people and Dad's sister, well...,"

"You're afraid they won't like you?" He said gently.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean, look at me. They'll know I'm not related to Dad by blood. What if they don't accept me? What if...What if my new aunt decides she doesn't want anything to do with me?"

Vision smiled. "Luna, the people of Wakanda are very nice," he said. "And they respect Black Panther very much. They'll no doubt show you the same respect. And I believe your father has already told your aunt about you."

Luna's shoulders drooped. "Now I'm really scared," she said, sitting on her bed. "What if I don't make a good impression? What if I embarrass Dad?"

Venus and Cleo, sensing the girl's emotions going into a spiral, got up from their spot by the window and went over to Luna, purring and rubbing their heads against her lower legs. Unconsciously, she began petting them, beginning to calm down as she did so. Black Widow, who heard the last two questions, came in and smiled.

"Just be yourself, Luna," she said gently. "I'm sure you'll make a good first impression and I doubt you could ever embarrass your father."

The twelve-year-old sighed. "I hope you're right, Aunt Natasha," she said.

"Miss Luna, the Quinjet is ready to go and your father is waiting for you," J.A.R.V.I.S. said right then, making her jump a bit before she sighed and grabbed her suitcase, looking at Cleo and Venus, petting their heads.

"You two be good while I'm gone," she said to them and they purred, nuzzling her hands. She hugged them before sighing again and hugging Vision and Natasha. "Well, wish me luck," she said.

"Good luck," Vision said with a smile.

"And relax," Natasha said gently.

* * *

Thanks to the Quinjet being really fast, Black Panther and Luna landed in Wakanda in about an hour. The girl looked out the window and took a deep breath, feeling nervous already. Her father had changed into his tribal king robes and she went into the quarters section of the jet and changed into the same dress she had worn when they had gone to rescue Venus. Slipping her feet into her shoes, she sighed. "Well, better get this over with," she said to herself before stepping out, seeing her father was ready to step off the jet. He smiled and held out his arm to his daughter, who took it as they descended from the jet.

Luna was surprised to see how many people were gathered around and they bowed in respect to their king, murmuring happy greetings. "Thank you, my people," he said with a smile before motioning them to rise. "My people, I have recently become a father. Beside me is my new daughter, Luna."

There were gasps of surprise and Luna took a step forward, curtseying politely before taking a step back to stand by her father again. A lady then came forward and she smiled at them. "Welcome home, brother," she said, hugging him.

"Thank you, my sister," he said, hugging her back.

Luna swallowed hard, seeing this was her aunt, which meant she was a princess too. When Shuri looked at her, the twelve-year-old curtsied to her politely, but stayed quiet, unsure of what to say.

"This is her, T'Challa?" The woman asked.

"Yes, Shuri. This is my daughter, Luna," he said.

She nodded. "Come, we need to speak, brother," she said.

Shuri led them to the hut where T'Challa turned to his daughter. "You can rest or explore the village while I talk to your aunt, but don't go beyond the village gate," he said.

She nodded. "Yes, Dad," she said.

As the two adults headed into a room to talk privately, Luna headed out, deciding to learn more about the village. She began to feel a bit out of place as she walked and everyone was looking at her. Just then, an elderly lady tripped and fell, the basket of fruit that was on her head falling too and scattering fruit everywhere. Luna rushed over to her. "Are you alright?" She asked, helping the elderly lady up.

"Yes," she said. "But the fruit."

"I'll get them," the twelve-year-old girl said and quickly set about, gathering up the fruit and bringing it back to the basket. Everyone watched as she did so and the elderly lady picked up the basket.

"Thank you, my dear," she said. "Would you help an old woman to walk to her hut?"

Luna took her hand and walked with her and they were soon at her hut. "Come in, dear," she said. "Would you like to help me sort out the fruit?"

Happy to have something to do, the girl agreed. "How do you like it here in Wakanda?" The lady asked.

The twelve-year-old was quiet for a moment. "Honestly, I...I kind of feel out of place," she admitted. "I guess I'm still getting used to being T'Challa's daughter and a princess."

The lady chuckled. "I suppose that is a little daunting," she said as Luna handed her some apples. "What do you think of the village?"

"It's...interesting," the girl said, hesitating a bit. "I've never been to a village before, so it's all new to me."

A young girl came in and went up to the woman and said something in their native language, to which the old woman responded and the young girl looked at Luna before bowing to her. "Thank you for helping my great grandma," she said.

"You're welcome," Luna said, smiling at the young girl, who looked to be no more than nine years old.

A couple other women came in and spoke to the elderly woman while the twelve-year-old continued sorting the fruit. After a bit, one woman touched her shoulder and Luna looked up at her. "You're very strange," the woman said.

The girl blinked. "I am?" She asked.

"Yes," she said. "You're not like us."

Luna winced at hearing that. "Now, my daughter, watch your tongue around the princess," the elderly woman said.

"Princess Shuri is the princess, grandmother," the woman said. "This child is no princess."

The twelve-year-old felt it was best to leave and with a curtsey, she left the hut, feeling much like a scolded child. As she was walking, another woman approached her and the girl braced herself for another rejection. "Why did you help the elderly one?" The lady asked, sounding curious.

Luna looked at her. "Because it was the right thing to do," she said. "Before they died, my parents taught me to respect my elders and to help them if they needed it."

The lady seemed pleased with her answer and looked curious. "Have you ever weaved a basket before?" She asked.

The twelve-year-old shook her head. "No, I haven't," she said.

"We can show you, if you'd like."

Luna nodded. "Thank you. I'd like to learn," she said.

The lady guided her to a circle of women who were weaving baskets and showed her how to get started and how to weave the reeds together. Catching on fast, Luna found herself relaxing and enjoying the activity. Some younger children came up and were watching as she finished weaving one basket and started on another. Just then, a cheer went up and everyone looked up. "What's going on?" The twelve-year-old asked.

"The men have returned from a good hunt," one of the ladies said. "A banquet in honor of our king and of our newest princess."

As some ladies went to greet the men, Luna stayed with the weavers and continued weaving baskets. Someone came up to her and she looked up to see it was a young man and he was watching her. "White girl is weaving baskets?" He asked. "Why?"

"I wanted to know how to," she told him.

"Be mindful of your tongue," the lady beside her said. "She is Princess Luna, daughter of our king."

"False daughter," he said. "She shouldn't be here."

Luna's shoulders drooped again and she set aside the basket she had just finished before standing up and walking away, hearing something said in the native tongue, but she didn't turn around. She just went back to her father's hut and sat down with a sigh, tears running down her face.

* * *

In the private room, Shuri nodded as she listened to T'Challa. "She has been through much for her young age," the woman said.

T'Challa paused when he heard something and turned to look, pushing aside the blanket to see his daughter was sitting on a cot and she was crying. "Luna, what happened?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her.

She looked up at him and sniffled. "Dad, I think it might be best if I go back home," she said sadly.

He had a feeling he knew what had happened. "Did someone say something to you?" He asked.

She bit her lip, not wanting to tell him, but then Shuri sat beside her. "Please tell us, dear," she said gently.

Luna felt more tears come to her eyes before she sighed. "One lady said I wasn't like the rest of them and that I'm no princess and a young man asked me why a white girl would weave baskets and I told him I wanted to learn how and when the lady who was teaching me told him I was your daughter, he called me a false daughter and said I shouldn't be here," she said.

T'Challa didn't like hearing that someone had been rude to his daughter. "I shall go and speak to the village," he said. "Shuri, will you stay with Luna while I do so?"

"Of course, brother," the woman said.

T'Challa then left and Shuri looked at Luna, who looked miserable. "Luna, you shouldn't listen to those people," she said. "What they said wasn't right."

The girl looked at her. "What did I do to make them dislike me?" She asked.

"I doubt you did anything to make them dislike you," the woman said gently. "They were just being ignorant."

Luna didn't feel any better and Shuri had an idea. "Come," she said, standing up. "I need to finish making the necklaces for the celebration tonight. You can help me if you'd like."

A bit hesitant, the twelve-year-old nodded after a moment and followed her aunt into another room and it wasn't long before they were making the necklaces, the young girl again starting to feel better as she then looked over at her aunt, who looked up and smiled at her. "T'Challa told me a lot about you, Luna," she said. "I was so excited to hear you were coming for a visit."

Luna looked at her. "Why?" She asked curiously.

"Because I was excited to meet my new niece," Shuri said, still smiling before looking curious. "Didn't you want to meet me?"

The young girl sighed a little. "Yes, but...I was scared you wouldn't like me or accept me," she said.

Shuri set down the necklace she was working on and went over to the child, hugging her gently. "Luna, when T'Challa said he had adopted you, I accepted you right then and there," she said. "Because I was now an aunt and I had an niece at last. I've been wanting to be an aunt for so long."

Luna returned the hug, looking at her aunt before sighing again. "You really accept me?" She asked. "Even though I'm white and I'm not blood related to Dad."

"Yes," the woman said with a smile. "Because I don't judge and I don't care if you're not my niece by blood. You're my niece by family standards and that won't change."

Luna now felt better and smiled up at her aunt. "Thanks...Aunt Shuri," she said.

The woman felt happiness fill her that the child accepted her too and they went back to making necklaces. By the time they finished. T'Challa came back and he nodded, hugging his daughter. "I spoke to the village and you shouldn't be having anyone speaking against you again," he said.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "Aunt Shuri showed me how to make necklaces for tonight."

"And the feast is almost ready," he said.

That evening, Luna was shocked at how large the feast was and she sat down by her father, deciding to keep quiet unless she was spoken to. T'Challa gave permission for the feast to start and the girl had to admit the food was delicious. The elderly lady from earlier came up to her and bowed politely.

"Forgive my intrusion, child. I wish to give you something," she said, presenting a beautiful cloth to the girl. "A dress that I made myself."

Luna was touched by the gift and nodded to the elderly woman. "Thank you for such a lovely gift," she said.

T'Challa smiled, pleased when he saw that and throughout the feast, many thoughtful gifts were given to Luna, who thanked each person graciously. The two that had spoken so rudely to her earlier came forward and the woman bowed before her while the man stood behind the woman, but bowed in respect.

"Anyone who seeks to learn is wise," he said.

"And one who helped the elderly is not only wise, but a good person too," the woman said.

The twelve-year-old realized the two were asking for forgiveness and she wondered what to say before it hit her and she looked at the two, standing up as she felt it was proper for what she was about to say. Everyone fell silent at this and Luna took a deep breath. "Thank you for your kind words," she said graciously to them. "And I forgive you both."

Shuri and T'Challa both smiled at this, pleased with Luna's gracious repsonse to the apologies.

The rest of their stay went quick as the village accepted Luna as a new princess and the girl learned more about her second home. When it was time to go, she felt sad and hugged her aunt. "I hope we'll return again soon," she said.

Shuri nodded with a smile. "I'll be looking forward to it," she said.

Luna hugged her again. "Thank you, Aunt Shuri," she said, looking at the bracelet that her aunt had made for her. It had blue beads and three charms on it, a lion, a panther, and a moon. Saying goodbye one more time, Black Panther and Luna headed home and the black-suited hero turned to his daughter.

"How did you like Wakanda?" He asked.

She smiled. "It feels like a second home to me," he admitted.

"Good," he said with a smile.

* * *

_A few months later..._

Black Panther snarled as he faced off against Doctor Octopus, who seemed to have an advantage with his robotic arms. "You should know better than to attack someone with more arms than you, Black Panther," the doctor said with a smirk.

The black-suited hero smirked. "And you should know...panthers hunt in packs," he said.

Claws slashed through the doctor's mechanical arms as a figure seemed to glide over the arms and barely touch them with their feet, jumping to a wall and using the momentum to jump back into the fight and land on Doctor Octopus' back, claws slashing into wires and metal.

Spiderman swung in and began wrapping up the villain in his spider webbing, watching as the other hero who was a near-spitting image of Black Panther continued the odd dance, even grabbing a section of his webbing and swinging around to catch a stray mechanical arm and pin the villain down for good. He growled and glared at them while S.H.I.E.L.D. took him away.

Black Panther stood nearby and nodded as Spiderman and the other black-suited hero joined him. "Good work," he said.

"Thanks," said the webslinger before looking at the other hero. "And neat trick on grabbing the webbing like that."

"Thanks," the black-suited hero said, indicating it was a female. "Did you get the other guy? Chameleon, right?"

"Yeah, I got him," Spiderman said. "Believe it or not, he tried to imitate you, Moon Claw."

"Ugh," she said with a shudder. "There's only one Moon Claw in this town."

"That is for certain," said Black Panther.

"I agree," came an unfamiliar voice and they turned to see a figure clad in dark brown in a nearby alleyway. She had cat ears on her head that twitched as if hearing sounds all around and a long tail flicked around behind her. A brown eyemask that went from her nose to her forehead bought out her golden brown eyes and long darker brown hair while her claws retracted into her hands. "You've come far, Luna."

The new heroine looked at her in shock. "How...?" She asked.

"I've been watching you," the girl said with a smile. "I watch every hero in New York."

"You do?" Spiderman asked.

She nodded. "Who do you think convinced Jameson to stop the bad publicity on the Howling Commandos?"

The webslinger jolted in shock. "That was you?" He asked.

She nodded before looking at Luna and smiling again. "Your parents would be proud of you, Luna," she said.

Luna blinked. "You knew my parents?" She asked in shock.

The cat-like girl nodded. "Yes, I did," she said. "It was because of their research that I chose to become what I am. A humanoid cat."

"Their research?" Black Panther asked curiously.

She nodded. "Luna's parents studied everything they could about cats and how cat DNA could help humans in so many ways if the right combination was found," she said, smiling now. "They saved my life with it, otherwise I would have died from blood cancer."

Luna was shocked before seeing the humanoid cat girl smile and begin to walk away. "Wait!" She called out.

The dark-brown furred girl stopped. "Yes?" She asked curiously.

"Who are you?"

At the girl's question, the cat-like girl smiled. "You'll know soon enough," she said gently. "For now, good luck, daughter of the Black Panther."

She ducked into an alleyway and by the time Spiderman got to where she was, she was gone. "She vanished," he said in surprise, seeing claw marks on a nearby wall before noting something. "Looks like she grabbed onto the wall and took a giant leap."

"But who was she?" The younger heroine asked.

Black Panther was curious too. "Well, perhaps one day, we'll know who she is," he said before glancing to see it was getting late in the afternoon. "Come, let's get back to the Mansion."

Moon Claw nodded and looked at Spiderman, a gleam in her white eyes. "Race you, web head!" She said before bounding down the street and jumping up to get to the roofs of the buildings.

"You're on, cat girl!" He said, swinging after her while Black Panther watched, running behind them to keep an eye on them.

The heroine giggled as the webslinger caught up to her. "Hey, want to team up?" He asked her.

She giggled again before nodding. "Ready?" She asked.

"Ready!" He said before doing a flip in the air and she raced ahead, leaping up into the air and holding out her arms as she did a little skydiving and he swung underneath her, his back to her, which allowed her to smoothly land on his back as they both skydived before Spiderman shot out a web line and it caught on a nearby building, giving the two some bounce and momentum as they flew through the air.

"Let's try not to crash into Vision this time!" Moon Claw called out over the rushing wind.

"Or Hulk!" He said in agreement. The last couple of times they had teamed up like this, they had crashed into the two heroes and while Vision had caught them both, they had thrown him back quite a bit and nearly took out a few windows of the Mansion. With Hulk, they had knocked into him with such velocity that they had actually knocked the big guy off his feet. He hadn't been too happy about that and it had taken both Natasha and Captain America to calm the big guy down.

They could now see the Mansion and saw Wasp, Vision, and Captain America outside. "Incoming!" The three heard and looked up in time to see Spiderman and Moon Claw swooping in. The heroine let go of the webslinger and did a double backflip in mid-air before landing lightly on her feet on the ground while the webslinger let go of the web line and did a backflip before landing in a crouched position on the edge of the Mansion roof. He jumped down to join the heroine on the ground.

Wasp chuckled. "As least you two called out a warning this time," she said teasingly.

"Hey! We didn't see Vision until he suddenly appeared out of nowhere," Moon Claw said as they headed inside and she took off her mask, shaking out her red hair.

"What about when you two ran into Hulk?" Captain America asked teasingly.

"Luna was covering my eyes," Spiderman said.

"Because you got the bright idea to toss me up into the air without warning!" She retorted, trying not to laugh but failing at it. "So naturally, I made sure to hold on tight."

He chuckled. "Sure caught Hulk by surprise though," he said.

"True," Luna said in agreement. "But I thought for sure he was going to get us for that."

"He did, remember?" Spiderman told her. "You and I must have done a couple laps around the mansion before Black Widow and Cap got the big guy to calm down."

"Oh, yeah. I guess he did," she said as she remembered.

Black Panther came up behind them. "I see you two didn't crash into anyone," he said teasingly.

"Of course not, Dad," Luna said, looking innocent.

A friendly growl reached them and Venus and Cleo came bounding towards them. "AAH!" Spiderman yelped, jumping to the ceiling while the twelve-year-old girl giggled and kneeled down right before Cleo knocked her over and both the panther and lioness purred, making the girl giggle more.

"Okay, you two," she said playfully. "I'm getting a bit too old for this."

Black Panther chuckled. "They'll always see you as their little cub, Luna," he said.

Later on, Luna put away her heroine suit, which was all black like Black Panther's suit, but had no other markings on it save for the white eyes and her climbing claws that she had worked with forever now were not only her way of climbing, but also her weapon too. She now gazed in the mirror and smiled as she noticed the necklace with the cat paw pendant around her neck. It had been a gift from Black Panther on the very night that her former foster parents had been arrested and the adoption papers had gone through. She smiled as she looked now at her purple sparkly shirt and black jeans that she was wearing at the moment before a knock came at her door. "Come in," she called out.

Black Panther came in and he smiled at her. "I'm proud of you, little shadow," he said and she smiled. Because her outfit was close to his (he had designed it with both Wasp's and Tony's help) and she was always with him, 'little shadow' had become her nickname. "You've learned so much in just a few months."

"But I still have a lot to learn, Dad," she said.

"A good hero never stops learning," he said with a nod before seeing she was wearing the necklace he had given her. "It seems the cat paw was a good choice for your necklace."

She grinned. "Of course, because it reminds me of you," she said. "The hero that saved me and became my dad."

He chuckled. "It still seems like yesterday that I found you running from the police and then you ran from me until I caught you."

"You got lucky," she playfully retorted before hugging him. "But I guess I got lucky too, because you wouldn't give up on me and then you adopted me."

He nodded and she looked up at him. "Why did you want to adopt me right away?" She asked.

Black Panther knew she meant the other reason besides the fact that as a protector, he couldn't turn his back on a child. "When I saw you were hurt, my fatherly instincts took over and I felt protective of you," he said, one hand stroking her head. "I was angered to hear that someone as young as you had suffered abuse and I wanted to get you away from whoever had hurt you."

Luna nodded, knowing he was speaking the truth. "And I was so scared to even consider letting someone adopt me because of my experiences in foster homes," she said. "And to learn that a famous hero was looking to adopt me was a little...,"

"Overwhelming?" He supplied gently.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I thought you were just that you would adopt me to get me to trust you."

He shook his head. "I wasn't," he said before picking her up and holding her like a small child. She rested her head on his shoulder trustingly before hugging him again.

"Love you, Dad," she said.

"I love you too, my little one," he said.

Luna closed her eyes, feeling safe as she heard her father's heartbeat, with lulled her to sleep as she felt safe, knowing her father would always be watching over her and Black Panther carried her to her bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead in affection, proud to have Luna for his daughter, just as she was proud to have him as her father.

On the roof of the mansion, the cat-like girl from earlier smiled as she heard the exchange and nodded. "Good luck, Luna," she said softly before leaping away into the night, her ears twitching and her tail upright as she flew through the air with the grace of a cat.

* * *

**And that concludes "Under A Panther's Watch". Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, faved, and followed this story. **

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


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